Russian football player shot dead

A 20-year-old footballer for Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala has been shot dead near his home in Russia's volatile North Caucasus.

Gasadn Magomeov was driving into his home village on Saturday night when his car was sprayed with machine-gun fire and he died from his wounds while being transported to hospital, Anzhi said in a statement.

No arrests have been made and the motive is unclear, the club said. There were no reports of any other casualties.

Magomedov was a regular in midfield for Anzhi's youth and reserve teams and the club expressed "the deepest condolences" on his death.

"One thing can be said with confidence - Magomedov could not have provoked anything like this in any way," the club said.

The Russian region of Dagestan, where the attack took place and where Anzhi is based, has a long-running Islamist insurgency. Gun battles between rebels and Russian security forces are not uncommon.

Anzhi challenged for the Russian Premier League title in recent years, but was relegated to the second tier last season. For several years, it had a policy of basing star players, including striker Samuel Eto'o, in Moscow to avoid Dagestan's security risks.